By Colin Wilcox

If you have a problem with a slide deck, spreadsheet, or database that you can't solve, chances are you can find an answer on a newsgroup. This article explains how to connect to newsgroups using either Microsoft Internet Explorer or Microsoft Outlook® Express. It also provides tips for getting the best results from newsgroups.

Applies to
Microsoft Office 2003 Editions
Microsoft Office XP

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Remember the old Beach Boys song, the one about a place to take your troubles? Well, when you have problems with a Microsoft Office application that you don't know how to solve, don't go to your room. Go to a newsgroup instead.

A lot of you have written to the Power User Corner mail box (pwruser@microsoft.com) with questions about your unique problems. As much as we'd like to, we can't answer those types of questions, mainly because we don't have time. In a typical business day, the feedback mailbox receives roughly 12 questions. To research and test the answers for each question, we'd need anywhere from three hours to three days. So, if all we did was create custom solutions, we'd have a turnaround time of… I don't even want to think about it.

A newsgroup can help you out in much less time! Regardless of your problem, chances are someone on a newsgroup can help. For example, if you can't figure out why a formula in your spreadsheet produces #N/A errors, someone in a newsgroup can often help troubleshoot your problem.

And here's the best part: The people who answer your questions do so for free!

This article explains how to connect to Microsoft's public newsgroups using either Microsoft Internet Explorer or Microsoft Outlook Express. It also provides tips for using newsgroups and Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) effectively, and it lists some of the most popular newsgroups (by numbers of postings) for the primary Office applications.

Connect to newsgroups with your browser

Outlook Express is a very handy newsgroup reader. However, if you don't have that program, you can read and post messages by using your browser.

To start, navigate to the Office Newsgroup home page.

If you're new to newsgroups, we strongly recommend following the links on that site about how to use newsgroups, the introduction to MVPs, and the rules for usage.

Connect to a newsgroup server using Outlook Express

Open Outlook Express and follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Accounts.
2. In the Internet Account dialog box, click Add, and then click News.
   The Internet Connection Wizard starts. Follow these steps in the wizard:
   1. On the first screen, in the Display name box, type the name that other users will see when you post a message to the newsgroup, and then click Next.
   2. On the second screen, type your full e-mail address in the E-mail address box, and then click Next.
   3. On the third screen, in the News (NNTP) Server box, type the name of your news server. To subscribe to the newsgroups hosted on Microsoft's servers, type msnews.microsoft.com. If you don't know the name of your news server, contact your Internet provider.
   4. If necessary, select the My news server requires me to log on check box, and then click Next. If you don't know whether your server requires you to log on, contact your Internet provider. The Microsoft server does not require a user name and password.
   5. On the last screen, click Finish.
3. Click Close, and then click Yes when asked if you want to download newsgroups from the account you just created. The Newsgroup Subscriptions dialog box appears.
4. Select the newsgroups you want to use, click Subscribe, and then click OK.
   
   

    Note   Most of Microsoft newsgroups use this naming convention: microsoft.public.application_name.specific_area. For example: you could subscribe to microsoft.public.office.dataanalyzer, or microsoft.public.excel.programming. However, that isn't always the case. Don't be afraid to browse the list of groups in order to find something that you think will be useful.

5. On the Tools menu, click Options, click the Read tab, and then clear the Get 300 headers at a time check box.
6. Click the Maintenance tab, clear the Delete new messages n days after being downloaded check box, and then click OK.

Step 5 allows you to download and read all the newsgroup's postings when you first subscribe. Step 6 allows you to read older messages.

Subscribe or unsubscribe to newsgroups

After you establish a connection to your newsgroup server, you add newsgroups to your list by subscribing. You can subscribe or unsubscribe to newsgroups at any time. Typically, you use the group name as a guide when subscribing. For example, a name such as microsoft.public.office.developer.outlook.forms would be a good place to start if you need help writing a custom form for Outlook.

To subscribe

1. Start Outlook Express.
2. In the folder pane, click the name of your news server. For example, if you established a connection to the Microsoft server, click msnews.microsoft.com.
3. In the main viewing pane, click Newsgroups.
4. In the Newsgroup Subscriptions dialog box, select a newsgroup from the list, and then click Subscribe.
5. Repeat the previous step to subscribe to additional newsgroups, and then click OK when you finish.
6. In the main viewing pane, double-click the name of the new newsgroup. If you only want to receive new messages since the last time you visited, select the New messages only check box, and then double-click the newsgroup name.
   
   

    Note   When you subscribe to a newsgroup for the first time, you receive all the messages whether or not you select the New messages only check box.

To unsubscribe

• In the Outlook Express folder pane, right-click the newsgroup that you want to stop using, and then click Unsubscribe on the shortcut menu.

Tips

• To reduce the number of items in the list of available newsgroups, enter a phrase in the Display newsgroups which contain box. For instance, you can enter an application name such as "publisher" or the name of a discipline such as "programming." The list changes automatically when you finish typing.
• Newsgroups in languages other than English are identified by their names; for example, microsoft.public.fr.excel is a newsgroup for Microsoft Excel users who speak French.

Tips for getting effective results from a newsgroup

If you've ever visited a chat room or used instant messaging, chances are you've seen at least one set of rules for good behavior on the Web. Those rules also apply to newsgroups. For now, we'll repeat the top three rules of behavior:

• Be detailed. Provide as much information about your problem as possible. If you can, attach the problem file or paste your code into the message so others can work on it directly.
• Be patient. Don't post a message, wait 30 minutes, and then quit in disgust. Check for replies during the next few days. If you don't get a reply, try a different newsgroup.
• Be nice. Many people will use their spare time to help you, so don't even think about posting a flame message. Also, when someone answers your question, post a thank-you message to the entire newsgroup.

How to find MVPs

Microsoft newsgroups offer another advantage: MVPs. MVPs are people outside Microsoft who have acquired expertise in a programming language or a Microsoft application. MVPs share their knowledge regularly with at least one newsgroup.

For more information about MVPs and the MVP program, go to the Microsoft MVP Program site.

Some useful newsgroups

The following sections list the top U.S. and international newsgroups (in terms of postings) on the Microsoft news server. The list was updated in December of 2003. Copy and paste the group names. If you don't find what you need here, just fire up your favorite search engine.

For Microsoft Office Access users

English Newsgroups

• microsoft.public.access
• microsoft.public.access.forms
• microsoft.public.access.formscoding
• microsoft.public.access.queries
• microsoft.public.access.reports
• microsoft.public.access.modulesdaovba

International newsgroups

• microsoft.public.fr.access
• microsoft.public.de.access
• microsoft.public.es.access
• microsoft.public.nl.office.access
• microsoft.public.it.access
• microsoft.public.cn.access

For Microsoft Data Analyzer users

• microsoft.public.office.dataanalyzer
• microsoft.public.dataanalyzer (when using a browser)

For Microsoft Office Excel users

English Newsgroups

• microsoft.public.excel.programming
• microsoft.public.excel.misc
• microsoft.public.excel.worksheet.functions
• microsoft.public.excel
• microsoft.public.excel.charting
• microsoft.public.excel.newusers
• microsoft.public.excel.crashesgpfs
• microsoft.public.mac.office.excel

International newsgroups

• microsoft.public.fr.excel
• microsoft.public.de.excel
• microsoft.public.nl.office.excel
• microsoft.public.es.excel
• microsoft.public.cn.excel

For Microsoft Office FrontPage® users

English Newsgroups

• microsoft.public.frontpage.client
• microsoft.public.frontpage.addins
• microsoft.public.frontpage.extensions.unix
• microsoft.public.frontpage.extensions.windowsnt
• microsoft.public.frontpage.mac
• microsoft.public.frontpage.programming

International newsgroups

• microsoft.public.arabic.frontpage
• microsoft.public.de.frontpage
• microsoft.public.de.german.vba
• microsoft.public.es.frontpage
• microsoft.public.fr.frontpage
• microsoft.public.it.office.frontpage
• microsoft.public.jp.frontpage
• microsoft.public.jp.officexp.frontpage
• microsoft.public.kr.frontpage
• mircosoft.public.nl.office.frontpage
• microsoft.public.ru.russian.frontpage
• dk.edb.internet.webdesign.frontpage

For Microsoft Office InfoPath™ users

U.S. newsgroup

• microsoft.public.infopath

International newsgroups

• microsoft.public.cn.infopath
• microsoft.public.de.infopath
• microsoft.public.jp.infopath

For Microsoft Office Outlook® users

English Newsgroups

• microsoft.public.outlook
• microsoft.public.windows.inetexplorer.ie6_outlookexpress
• microsoft.public.windows.inetexplorer.ie55.outlookexpress.stationery
• microsoft.public.outlook.general
• microsoft.public.outlook.contacts

International newsgroups

• microsoft.public.de.outlook
• microsoft.public.de.german.inetexplorer.ie6.outlookexpress
• microsoft.public.fr.outlookexpress6
• microsoft.public.fr.outlook
• microsoft.public.de.german.inetexplorer.ie6.outlookexpress
• microsoft.public.nl.office.outlook

For Microsoft Office OneNote users

English Newsgroups

• microsoft.public.onenote

International newsgroups

• microsoft.public.cn.onenote
• microsoft.public.jp.onenote
• microsoft.public.de.onenote

For Microsoft Office PowerPoint® users

English Newsgroups

• microsoft.public.powerpoint
• microsoft.public.mac.office.powerpoint

International newsgroups

• microsoft.public.fr.powerpoint
• microsoft.public.de.german.powerpoint
• microsoft.public.fr.powerpoint
• microsoft.public.es.powerpoint
• microsoft.public.it.office.powerpoint
• microsoft.public.nl.office.powerpoint

For Microsoft Office Publisher users

English Newsgroups

• microsoft.public.publisher
• microsoft.public.publisher.webdesign
• microsoft.public.publisher.prepress
• microsoft.public.publisher.programming

International newsgroups

• microsoft.public.fr.publisher
• microsoft.public.de.german.publisher
• microsoft.public.nl.office.publisher
• microsoft.public.it.office.publisher
• microsoft.public.es.publisher

For Microsoft Office Visio® users

English Newsgroups

• microsoft.public.visio.general
• microsoft.public.visio
• microsoft.public.visio.developer.vba
• microsoft.public.visio.general
• microsoft.public.visio.createshapes
• microsoft.public.visio.software.modeling

International newsgroups

• microsoft.public.fr.visio
• microsoft.public.de.german.visio
• microsoft.public.es.visio

For Microsoft Office Word users

English Newsgroups

• microsoft.public.word.newusers
• microsoft.public.word.application.errors
• microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
• microsoft.public.word.vba.general
• microsoft.public.word.pagelayout

International newsgroups

• microsoft.public.de.word
• microsoft.public.fr.word
• microsoft.public.es.word
• microsoft.public.nl.office.word
• microsoft.public.de.word.vba

Keep sending those e-mail messages!

Even though we can't answer your messages directly, we value your feedback. Send it to pwruser@microsoft.com. We really want this to be your column, so please send us your comments and favorite handcrafted Office solutions. Remember, we can't feature every Office solution that we receive and we are not technical support representatives, but we may feature your solution in an upcoming column.

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About the author

Colin Wilcox writes for the Office Help team. In addition to contributing to the Office Power User Corner column, he writes articles and tutorials for Microsoft Data Analyzer.

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